Almost half of Canadians aged 45 to 54 do not plan to fully retire and will work to remain active or earn money to survive, according to a joint SECOR Consulting/Leger Marketing national survey.

The survey of 1,504 Canadians found 47 per cent of respondents in that age bracket have foregone dreams of living a life of leisure once they hit the age of 65.

Respondents also put a high priority on maintaining their current lifestyle, with 86 per cent of those between the age of 45 and 54 ranking it as "very important."

"It seems increasingly important for people to understand how much money will be required to support their current lifestyle through retirement, and consequently, retirement planning is increasingly complex," said SECOR partner Louis Regimbal in a statement.

A separate Ipsos Reid study found that when baby boomers do eventually retire, they would prefer to continue living in their present home.

Conducted for RBC, the survey of 1,238 adult Canadians born between 1946 and 1965 found 60 per cent want to stay in their current community.

Just over half of those respondents say they intend to do some remodeling while 19 per cent plan to undertake major renovations. Roughly one-quarter are looking to purchase a second property or vacation house.

The same survey found 61 per cent of baby boomers are still carrying a mortgage even though 83 per cent think is it important to pay off those mortgages before they retire.

Of those surveyed, 22 per cent believe their home will be their primary income source in retirement.

"As expected, many boomers who have yet to retire are still carrying a mortgage, but unlike their parents, this generation may continue to tap into their home equity, when retired, for the things that matter most to them," said Catherine Adams, RBC Royal Bank vice-president of home equity financing, in a statement.